


There’s No Such Thing As Monsters

by ladydragon76



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Fanfiction, M/M, Rating: NC-17 - Freeform, Warning: Disturbing Mental Images, Warning: violence, character: jazz, character: sunstorm, genre: action, genre: angst - Freeform, genre: drama, genre: horror, genre: hurt/comfort, genre: tragedy, smut: sparks, verse: g1, warning: character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-22
Updated: 2011-01-22
Packaged: 2017-10-14 23:17:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/154556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Summary:</b> It was supposed to be just another PWP challenge from AprilRavenGirl and LB82, but the plot fairy snuck in and… and this has never happened to me before… I almost DIDN’T write any smut in it.  Never fear.  It’s there.  I just had to actually think of how to tuck it in.  I know.  Weird.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There’s No Such Thing As Monsters

**Title:** There’s No Such Thing As Monsters  
 **‘Verse:** G1  
 **Series:** None  
 **Rating:** NC-17  
 **Pairings:** Jazz/Sunstorm  
 **Summary:** It was supposed to be just another PWP challenge from AprilRavenGirl and LB82, but the plot fairy snuck in and… and this has never happened to me before… I almost DIDN’T write any smut in it. Never fear. It’s there. I just had to actually think of how to tuck it in. I know. Weird.

 

**There’s No Such Thing As Monsters**

 

Note on Cybertronian times:  
Klik = About a minute  
Breem = 8.3 minutes  
Cycle = 2 hours  
Rotation = 36 hours  
Decacycle = 3 weeks

~|~

Jazz stared at the sight before him in mild surprise.

He’d been trained to expect the unexpected and handle it without a blink. Pits, he’d been trained to be the unexpected. _Be_ what made everyone else blink.

If they lived…

But this was a new one on him.

Only four Earth days ago, Optimus had received a transmission from Ultra Magnus regarding the continued and mysterious disappearances of Decepticon flyers. At first it hadn’t been treated as any big deal. Not by the Autobots or by Shockwave and his cronies. In fact to the best of all Autobot intelligence, the great purple guardian (boob, in Jazz’s opinion) hadn’t even reported the loss of the young flyers to Megatron… At that point in time… But it’d been going on for the last Earth month.

Then two days ago, Shockwave had finally become… distressed… enough to contact his boss. Apparently, two members of one of the up and coming trines were sent to check out just what was keeping the other Decepticons that had been sent on various errands to the southern polar region. Their trinemate and wingleader had been damaged in a skirmish and was laid up in the medbay until two days ago. He’d left immediately upon his release to find his now missing wingmates.

It was this newest disappearance that had Shockwave most concerned due to the impressive skills of the seeker and his potential value to the Decepticon cause. And given all the information the Earth Autobots had intercepted and the accumulated intel from Ultra Magnus, Optimus had dispatched Jazz for the space bridge in the next spark pulse.

His mission… Get to Cybertron, get to the southern regions, find out what was happening to the Decepticon flyers and get back to Earth with whatever information he could. Prime’s main concern was whether there was a third faction taking those flyers or since they were all young seekers, was this some other plan? Was it an uprising? Could the Autobots recruit or even aid these mechs if that was the case?

As the master spy stood and stared down at the crumpled sobbing little seeker… _Decepticon_ seeker, he wished that it had been a third faction, or a trick to lure Autobots, or really any of the scenarios he’d run through his processor. Because the little yellow tetra jet clinging to Jazz’s knees was babbling that he was lost and couldn’t get out. About a monster, and his trine, his brothers, being eaten by it. And all the while staring up with optics as golden as his body, with bright energon tears streaming down his dark face. And he was _begging_ Jazz to save him, crying that he couldn’t fly and the thing was going to get him. He couldn’t _fly_!

Deciding he’d given enough time to his logic processors to enjoy their slight meltdown, Jazz bent and pulled the seeker to his feet. Regardless of what the threat really was, he needed to get them somewhere more secure than the middle of the pathway.

Jazz had forgotten how the tetra jet build differed from Starscream and his wingmates’ F15 builds. This yellow one was young still, matured… but barely… and only as tall as the spy. His wings angled differently, heel thrusters not as prominent, shoulder vents shorter and lacking the canopy to his nosecone the mock Earth jets had.

“Ya realize I’m an Autobot, right?”

“So you’ll help me?” the golden one whimpered, the look of hope so spark-rending Jazz really would have changed his mind if he hadn’t already decided to help.

He sighed. “Yeah, I’ll help ya. Com’on. I passed an old building about a breem ago. We’ll hole up there an’ ya can explain this monster thing ta me.” The seeker sagged against Jazz as the spy turned and began walking back the way he’d come when the Decepticon had come clattering towards him in a panic. “So, I’m Jazz. Whadda they call ya?” Maybe if he could get the kid calmed down, he’d have an easier time getting the story out of him.

“Sunstorm,” the seeker replied, head swiveling and twisting around so constantly and in every which way that the Autobot was surprised he wasn’t falling on his aft from dizziness.

That name though… “Heh, Sunstorm’s a pretty fittin’ designation for ya.” Primus the kid _glowed_ he was so yellow. “Ya’d put Sunstreaker ta shame with those colors.”

Gold optics snapped around to Jazz’s face for only an instant before Sunstorm went back to scanning the surrounding crystal forest and dilapidated buildings for his ‘monster’. “Who’s Sunstreaker?” he asked distractedly, voice still trembling, the occasional new tear dripping off his chin guard and onto scuffed chest armor.

Jazz took the opportunity to look over the seeker while he spoke. “He’s a pal o’ mine. Good warrior.” The spy chuckled and decided not to tell Sunstorm about jet judo. He took in the scrapes and dings and minor damage. There were no big injuries, but a lot of minor damages. The wings though seemed fine, other than the scratches. Jazz had seen all the Decepticon flyers stationed on Earth fly with far worse damage. Maybe it was something internal? All that was noted while he blithely continued on about Sunstreaker. “Bit vain, bit hot tempered, gets into it a lot with the minibots. Few o’ them though are a bit hot tempered too.”

“Hot tempered Autobots?” Sunstorm asked in a low murmur. The tone was distracted and still managed to sound disbelieving.

“What, ya think only ‘Cons can have tempers?” Jazz saw the building he had passed before. It still had four solid looking walls and a roof. Important things regardless of whether the seeker was loony or not. Acid rain clouds gathered to the near north and they needed to get out of that. He didn’t relish the idea of having his paint stripped off.

Sunstorm clung to Jazz’s upper arm, head about to pop right off his neck the way he whipped it around and answered with a mild toned, yet still typical Decepticon misconception. “Autobots are soft-sparked do-gooders.”

Jazz shouldered the heavy and warped door aside enough to let both of them into the building. Sunstorm had to turn sideways but that seemed to suit the seeker fine as he continued to scan the surrounding landscape until he was all the way through. The spy debated on leaving the door open for a quick escape or closing it due to the possibility that the Decepticon’s monster might very well be _something_ that would get in through the narrow space.

Scanners didn’t work properly here in the crystal fields. Jazz had been prepared for the lack of contact too once he realized just how far south he was headed. He decided on securing the building rather than a quick escape. If he had to, he’d slap a breaching bomb on the back wall and blow it out.

Jazz activated his headlights and watched as Sunstorm paced the building, hand trailing the walls and optics moving constantly. It wasn’t very exciting in design. Only slightly deeper than it was wide, it was a single story room with two support columns. There was no power in this sector so beyond the glow of both mechs’ optics and the spy’s headlights there was inky blackness.

It was creepy, but Jazz wasn’t about to point that out or dwell on it himself.

“Why doncha tell me whatcha know?”

Sunstorm made his way back to Jazz as the Autobot sat and leaned his back against one of the columns, facing the door. He was surprised when the seeker knelt and then laid himself into the spy’s lap and arms. White hands clutched at one of Jazz’s shoulders and the other at his side. Pink tears still clung to the Decepticon’s cheeks and the golden light disappeared as he shuttered his optics. Fresh tears took on a purple cast under Jazz’s blue optics as they dripped onto his own chest plates. He cut his headlights to save the energy.

Oh Jazz had brought plenty of rations given how far he was traveling and the fact that most of Cybertron was dead and dark without any hope of finding energon in an emergency. But better, always better, to conserve and live sparingly. And now he had a Decepticon to feed too. Maybe. Probably. If Sunstorm had taken off the way Shockwave made it sound, it wasn’t very likely the young Decepticon had stocked his subspace first.

Sympathy pulled at Jazz’s spark as he watched the seeker cry. Sunstorm was staying fairly quiet, but his wings quivered and vents hitched. He reminded the spy more of a lost sparkling than a fully mature Decepticon warrior. He wrapped his arms around the other mech a bit better and hugged him close.

A strangled sob broke free and Sunstorm’s whole body shook under the force of his grief. It was spark-breaking to witness. Jazz cuddled the seeker as best he could, hands moving in soothing strokes and light circles. He let Sunstorm cry himself out and in the following silence acknowledged that the Decepticon had seen something bad. Whether it was a monster or something else remained to be seen.

Maybe an empty had managed to survive and wander this far south? It _was_ possible. He couldn’t rule out anything right now.

“Ok, Stormy,” Jazz began, voice barely more than a whisper. “I know ya’re upset an’ all, but can ya tell me what we’re up against? The more info ya can gimme the better chance we got o’ beatin’ it.”

The seeker’s inhalation was shaky, the exhalation a long and shuddering breath. Sunstorm wriggled a little higher until he was able to tuck his head in against the spy’s neck, resting on Jazz’s shoulder. “I... It’s…” He moaned. “Oh Primus! It k-killed them. I s-s-saw it!” The Decepticon stopped, tremors coursing through his body. The spy stroked a hand over the dark helm, doing his best to project calm reassurance. “R-razorwing and C-c-cloudchaser.” The names ended on a choking sob and all the Autobot could do for a good few breems after that was wait out the tears. He’d been through enough interrogations… giving and receiving… to know when one could or couldn’t press for more information without the captive breaking completely.

“I c-came after them as f-f-fast as I c-c-could.”

“Shhh,” Jazz whispered. “Relax. Go slow.”

Sunstorm nodded against his shoulder, gripping hands loosening a little. “I rushed off. We’ve lost so many down here and none of us understand why Commander Shockwave just keeps sacrificing mechs!”

“How long’s this been happenin’?”

“Almost three decacycles.”

Double what the Autobots had known about. Jazz felt his brow ridges rise under his visor but kept his voice low and steady. “How many?”

“Seventeen now,” the Decepticon whispered. “Not including myself. So… Eighteen I guess.”

“We ain’t dead yet, kid.”

“Not a kid,” Sunstorm said automatically. Like he’d said it so often it’d become a reflex. “And ‘yet’ would be the operative word.” A shiver practically rattled their bodies together. “I thought I caught a distress signal and hurried that way. Standard procedure is to fly by high above. Confirm the contact. Verify faction if possible. No one wants to walk into a trap.”

As Sunstorm spoke protocol his voice became steadier, deep yet soft and held just over a whisper. “But as I passed by I thought I caught a different type of signal. Really that deep into the crystals there shouldn’t have been anything. Not even a distress beacon due to interference, but I was hoping that… I wanted to find them. So I swept lower and I couldn’t see anything at first. Rusting buildings here and there. The crystals and all their angles and twists.”

“Then I saw this deeper red than anything else. Raz… Razorwing’s red and black. Deep red. So I headed down. Transforming. And then… Then my thrusters cut out. I transformed back and tried to coast in rather than just fall but it was still a hard landing.” A hiccupping sob burst out and the hands tightened on Jazz again. “I was mostly ok. Nothing a little buffing won’t fix. And I managed to find Razorwing. He…” A whimper. “He was a mess. Oh Primus! He was still alive but I don’t know how given the energon loss he had to be suffering. He had no legs anymore. And… and it l-l-looked like… like something had b-been… ch-chewing on him!”

Jazz remained silent but let his processor shift through everything he had ever heard of that might take a bite out of a Cybertronian. There _was_ supposed to be a planet a dozen or so solar systems away that _supposedly_ had some metal devouring creatures. But nothing the spy could think of other than empties here on Cybertron. But they didn’t leave victims lying around and they didn’t _eat_ metal. They were much more like zombies than Earth's vampire legends, and a lot messier in their eating habits, too. They had no real intelligence left; their only goal was to hunt down prey and rend and tear it apart to get at the energon blood within. 

“Cloudchaser was there. He was consciou-” Sunstorm lurched and screamed as thunder crashed on top of them.

“Shhh. Shhh. Just the storm finally hittin’ us that’s all. S’ok. Shhh.” Jazz held the seeker tight and rocked a little as Sunstorm wept in fear. “Com’on now. Ease up, babe, ease up. Just the storm. I know ya hadda seen those clouds comin’ in before we got in here.”

Sunstorm trembled and burrowed in as close as he could, but nodded. “S-s-sorry,” he whimpered miserably.

_Poor kid ain’t even got his pride left. Pits. Ok, Stormy-boy. What the slag scared ya so bad?_ Aloud, Jazz said, “S’ok. Just calm down, feels like ya’re about ta shake yourself right apart.”

Nodding, the seeker cycled a few breaths and began again. “Cloudchaser was there and conscious. He was damaged too, almost as bad.” Sunstorm shook and his voice became a strained whisper. “He told me to run. Told me to get the slag out of here before ‘it’ came back and caught me too. It had to have known I had landed. I ignored him.” There was a short bitter laugh. “Not like a ‘Bot would believe it but loyalty to one’s trine is important to seekers.”

“I believe it,” Jazz cut in gently.

Sunstorm cycled another few breaths and went on. “And it’s more for us younger seekers. We were the last. Our batch wasn’t divided up after onlining. We were all raised in the same facility. We’re brothers. We’re family.” The jet’s voice broke on the last word and it was a solid half breem before he spoke again. “I couldn’t leave them. Cloud… He was crying. Like… like I… was… am. I’ve never seen even a single tear from him before. Once I got one arm free for him he pushed at me and ordered me to go.” There was a derisive laugh. “I’m wingleader but he onlined two breems before I did so he was always pulling the big brother card and expecting me to obey.”

“But the more he cried and tried to get me to leave the more I knew I _had_ to stay and help them. But then… Then there was this… this booming rumble and sorta… scrape and slithering sound?” The description ended in a question rather than a statement. “Cloud went absolutely mad then. Sobbing so hard I could barely understand him and begging me to run, to hide. Just hide. Get away before it saw me too. That it’d already killed all the others. So I agreed. I thought I would hide until whatever was making that noise got in sight and then I’d get the drop on it, deactivate it and take my trine home.”

“What’d ya see?” Jazz asked when the silence stretched on.

“I don’t know,” the seeker whimpered. “It was large and dragged itself along with these… uh… tentacles?” A small noise sounded from Sunstorm’s vocalizer as he tried to stifle more tears. “Oh Primus, his screams! I’ll never forget his screams or the way they just… cut off.”

Sunstorm pressed his face back into Jazz’s neck and wept bitterly. The spy wasn’t sure how much time had passed by the time the seeker calmed again. Outside the storm still raged, each thunderclap causing the Decepticon to jerk and rattling the ancient walls of their shelter.

“The ten-tentacles t-t-tore him apart-t,” Sunstorm whispered. “By the limbs. And… And then pushed him into a… a… maw, I guess. That’s when… when…”

Jazz hushed the Decepticon and realized he was rocking them again. With a mental shrug he kept it up.

“He was alive,” Sunstorm gasped out. “And it reached out and grabbed Wing. He… Thank Primus, I don’t think he woke for his death.” There was a moment of silence within the building and the seeker jumped with the next thunderclap, but this time when he spoke it was with his full voice and pure fury. “Why! Why by the Smelters is Shockwave sending us here?! Over half our numbers have disappeared _right here_! They’ve all been killed by that… that monster!! Oh but he didn’t want me to go! Not precious Sunstorm. Not the most capable protégé flyer since Starscream! Seventeen of my brothers can die a horrible inconceivable death, but I’m too good to waste on feeding the monster!”

Jazz frowned as he listened to the rant and tried to come up with what it could possibly be that had… well… consumed the other seekers. Sunstorm’s grief and distress were real. But… and this was the tough part. There were no such thing as monsters. It had to be some type of mech. An empty that had maybe had enough processor power and know-how from its mech life to alter itself? That was a possibility. Then again… If Shockwave knew about this thing, perhaps it was a creation of his? The guardian did have a pretty high aptitude for science and an odd sadistic streak when it came to experimentation. Perceptor had known him before the war. In passing really, but the little scientist had commented once on how intelligent Shockwave was even if he seemed a bit fanatical about his projects sometimes. Jazz remembered because Wheeljack had laughingly asked how that made the Decepticon any different from himself or Perceptor. The microscope had chuckled and said that Autobots were dedicated. Decepticons were fanatics.

And Jazz had watched entirely too many Earth movies if he was thinking evil mad scientist’s creation run amok.

He must be getting tired.

A check to his chrono proved it and Sunstorm had quieted and gone a little lax in his arms. Scanning was impossible even at such close range and the spy hated to think that the weeping sparkling he’d just spent a cycle and a half comforting would suddenly turn into a warrior again and deactivate him in his recharge… But he couldn’t afford to trust. He was too good at his job for that.

Jazz shifted Sunstorm and laid him on the floor. No simple task with those wings making it tough to get the seeker on his back after being draped nearly prone on top of the spy for so long. He reached into his subspace and removed a single, compact cube of energon. It was rich and sweet, almost red in color. Thick to pack in as many of the nutrients in as high a quantity as possible. He’d buzz for a moment or two, once it hit his circulation, but Jazz would then be able to push off recharge for another rotation or so.

He’d thought the storm had been easing up but a sudden renewed rumbling boom shook the building straight to the foundation. Sunstorm popped upright, golden optics wide and bright.

“Jus’ th’ storm,” Jazz told him around the little cube in his mouth.

Sunstorm shook, arms wrapped about his torso as he looked around wildly. The Autobot sucked the last few drops of energon out of the cube and then bit down to break the energy field. He had his mouth open to call the seeker back to him when another boom made the walls vibrate. Jazz felt it right up his spinal support.

_Primus! I’m lettin’ the kid’s twitchin’ get ta me_.

The Decepticon remained frozen for another moment before suddenly whipping his face towards the door.

And Jazz heard it then. Beneath the pelting sizzle of the rain was a soft metallic hiss, a scraping, slithering sound that came and went in a horrible dragging rhythm. He instantly dimmed his optic output to zero and switched to echo location.

The sounds paused and Jazz held off using his locators. Some mechs were sensitive to it and he didn’t want to give away their position. In the silence he reached carefully into his subspace and removed two bombs. The breaching and a magnetic grenade.

The spy listened carefully. There was something stalking them and it was still out there. But Jazz had played this game entirely too many times in his life and was still alive because he was better at it then his opponents. Time dragged on. A breem. Two. Sunstorm was a statue, the spy only certain of the seeker’s continued presence with the same extra sense that told him the enemy was still there waiting.

Four breems passed. Five… and something heavy crashed against the wall by the door. The Autobot held himself still and prayed to the many gods he’d learned of in the galaxy that Sunstorm didn’t break and panic now.

Someone was listening because in contrast to his constant flinches at the thunder, the seeker didn’t make a whisper of movement or sound.

Outside, their stalker scrape-slithered away from the door. Jazz didn’t budge, not even so much as a flinch when the heavy crash rattled the roof this time, then the back wall.

Then silence fell again for another half cycle. Jazz was rethinking everything. There was absolutely no way this thing was an empty. Empties could smell energon and Jazz’s chest plates were covered in little half dried rivers of Sunstorm’s tears. One of the sweetest tastes energon ever acquired was as tears. The spy could smell it himself. And the seeker hadn’t wiped at his face either. An empty would smell that half a megamile away and break the walls down to get at them.

And no empty would wait its prey out either.

The booming came suddenly again. The back wall this time, the roof, the back corners. Offlined though they were, Jazz’s optics widened. It was trying to drive them out. Which meant whatever the slag it was, it was either pretty frelling sure they were inside the building or was _completely_ sure they were inside the building.

It just wasn’t sure how to get in.

Thanking his instincts for steering him right yet again in regards to the door, Jazz remained still. If they could just wait it out… If it wasn’t _sure_ …

He began systematically dampening all his systems. It wasn’t a very Autobot thing to do, but if he absolutely had no other choice, Jazz would leave Sunstorm and get the slag out of the crystals and haul aft back to Autobot territory. This thing… whatever it was… needed to be stopped. Better that he survive to bring back an extermination squad than for mechs to keep dying. It didn’t sit right with him to leave the seeker and with any luck at all he wouldn’t have to. So far the Decepticon hadn’t moved a servo…

Jazz suddenly realized Sunstorm had been here two days. Two days! How had the seeker avoided deactivation? The Autobot mentally slapped himself in the head. Of course Sunstorm could sit and not move. He’d already played this game. And he’d likely turn on the spy in a spark pulse if he thought it’d give him half a chance to escape. But he had also said he was lost and didn’t know his way out by ground. He needed Jazz for that at least. Not that in his panic or if it came right down to it, the Decepticon wouldn’t abandon even his rescuer.

There were a few more building-shuddering blows… which also proved that it _had_ to be large… and then silence again. After about a breem a rumble rolled through the ground and that scrape-slithering sound moved off to be replaced by only the hissing of the acid rain on the ground outside and on the roof.

The tension eased and Jazz began powering up his systems and onlined his optics. He left them dim, only at fifteen percent and so that Sunstorm was a barely visible wraith with a set of softly glowing yellow eyes. Neither spoke but after another breem the seeker’s optics slowly brightened to a normal level and the spy tucked his bombs back into subspace.

Jazz powered his own optics back to full and opened his mouth to whisper…

And ended up with an armload of bright yellow and gold Decepticon. Again. A muffled sob broke from Sunstorm.

“Primus! Every time! _Every slagging time_!” The seeker pulled back and ended up kneeling over the spy’s thighs. “I’m sure it’s going to know every time! And we can’t even run right now!”

“Relax. We move as soon as the rain lets up and drains off a little. Sounds like it moved off to the left of the building’s door. When we go, we go out the door and straight up the main path.” Jazz rubbed his hands up and down Sunstorm’s arms a little as the seeker knelt there over his lap and hugged himself. “There’s some twists an’ turns an’ all, but I know how ta get us outta here.”

He thought and then began asking questions. “Are ya damaged? Is that why ya can’t fly?”

“I don’t think so but I’m not sure. When I went down my systems were fritzing. I may have completely lost the ability or whatever field is being created by the crystals has grown strong enough to affect my flight systems too. I can’t tell. Systems checks return blank.”

“Ok… We’ll worry about that then again once we’re back in communications range. Next thing. How fast can that thing move?”

“I don’t know.” Jazz frowned but Sunstorm continued. “I never stuck around to watch it chase after me. I don’t know if it did chase me at all. I don’t think it knows quite what I look like really. It just knows there’s another meal for it running loose. I don’t even know how it manages to track me. If it were by scent it would’ve had us. Would have had _me_ half a dozen times by now.”

The Autobot nodded at that. “Yeah I was thinkin’ the same thing when it was poundin’ around on the buildin’.”

“Jazz?” Sunstorm whispered. The spy snapped his attention to the seeker, surprised to hear his designation. He hadn’t actually thought the other mech was paying much attention when he’d said it. “I don’t want to die.”

Plastering on his cockiest grin, Jazz lifted his visor with one finger and winked. “Ain’t gonna, kid. We’re gonna get the slag outta here.” He let go of the visor and pulled the seeker into a hug. “I got better plans for my death than bein’ eaten by some crazy monster thing.”

“So you believe me now?”

Jazz blinked, a little surprised by the Decepticon’s perceptiveness. “Yeah. I always believed somethin’ shook ya up an’ took your brothers, but I was tryin’ ta come up with what it could be that ya’d call a monster. Still not sure what we’re dealin’ with here.”

“A monster,” Sunstorm insisted. “It’s a monster that eats my brothers and will eat us and nothing else really matters to me. We need to get out and then bomb the Pits out of this place to destroy it. I’ll call the rest of my brothers, we’ll air strike it.”

The spy shook his head. ”They go flying over here and there’s only gonna be more grounded flyers runnin’ around. And if old Shocky’s behind this thing, we’re better off contactin’ the Autobots and getting’ ground troops down here in numbers and huntin’ it down.”

“I know I’ll owe you a life debt, but I really don’t want to be an Autobot prisoner,” the seeker muttered, his voice slightly muffled as he burrowed back in against Jazz’s neck. The spy bit at his lip as a soft mouth brushed innocently over a rather sensitive cable.

_So not the time for thoughts of **that**_.

Jazz winced as Sunstorm shifted and wrapped his arms tighter around the spy’s shoulders. He wasn’t used to touch from another so soon after a system dampening. He’d forgotten that it made him rather sensitive for a few cycles. In fact he’d done it intentionally any number of times for the boost it gave him in detecting an enemy he was stalking.

He’d even done it once or twice with a lover that wasn’t living up to expectations, to hurry things along a little.

“I owe you my gratitude as well. Perhaps being soft-sparked isn’t always a bad thing. No Decepticon other than my brothers would have accepted my… mourning, and held me. I’d be mocked. Made a fool of.”

Jazz shivered despite his best efforts as that soft voice washed over his audial and those barely there lips moved over the cable again. It was completely innocent! He should not be reacting this way.

Of course he could just dampen his systems again but then he’d be vulnerable to the Decepticon choosing to attack despite his sincere sounding words. Jazz had distrust ingrained so deeply in his circuits it was a reflex now. He simply couldn’t lower his defenses with an enemy soldier sitting in his lap.

Sunstorm leaned back and looked at the spy’s face. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I…” Jazz debated about telling the truth, then decided to go for it. “I wasn’t sure how it was searching for us, so I dampened my systems-“

“Oh!” The seeker actually snickered. Then brought a single finger to glide over the side of Jazz’s neck where Sunstorm had had his face. Another shiver gave him away as clearly as words. “We do that for fun sometimes.” Jazz stared at the seeker. “Well,” the Decepticon continued, his voice full of lusty amusement. “Those of us that can. Makes interfacing rather intense.” The last he murmured in a low tone next to the Autobot’s audial.

“We are being stalked by a monster,” Jazz said as clearly as he could, suppressing his eastern accent and ignoring the soft trace of lips on his neck. “We are trapped here by acid rain and may not make it the twenty or so megamiles through winding paths when we do run for it. And ya’re flirting with me?” He knew his voice had taken on an incredulous tone.

Sunstorm’s teasing nips ceased instantly and he slumped against Jazz. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I can’t fly. I’ve lost brothers… my co-creations… the mechs I’ve known _all_ my life… in ones and twos for the last three decacycles. And I just… just...” The seeker faltered and sighed heavily.

“Just wanted ta forget a bit,” Jazz finished for him and the Decepticon nodded.

“Doesn’t really help that we seekers are a rather randy bunch.”

The Autobot giggled at the word ‘randy’ and hugged Sunstorm before twisting to the side. Sunstorm stared up from his back in surprise. “Ya know… A little sumpthin’ ta pass the time would prob’ly do us some good. Ya’re gonna hafta keep the noise down though.”

An optic ridge rose on the dark pewter face. “Never fear on that account. But what would your friends say knowing you ‘faced a ‘Con?”

The spy snorted a laugh, recalling the twins’ tale regarding a certain purple and black seeker they’d caught. And how that certain seeker didn’t bother using his teleportation abilities until he’d decided he _and_ his interrogators had been thoroughly worked over. “Ya seekers got sumpthin’ of a rep ‘mongst us ‘Bots. Wanna see about livin’ up ta it?” Sunstorm only continued to stare up at him. “It’s still rainin’,” Jazz pointed out.

“Well I do hate being bored,” the seeker said slowly. “But no hardline. That’s too… intimate.”

Jazz nodded in agreement. He’d only plugged into three other mechs his entire life for fun and only one of those after he’d done his Special Operations training. It was entirely too intimate and a good spy could gather a whole _lot_ of information that way. He would know. And though he had the firewalls to keep his memories locked away, he hated doing it. That once after joining Spec Ops had been a combination of his need for comfort and a way to get the information all to Prowl without having to face it all himself again while really _thinking_ about it.

Primus! That’d been ages ago.

Nimble white fingers traced along a transformation seam. “Want me to cycle my systems? Ever been with another that could do the same trick?”

The Autobot stared. “No hardline cuz that’s too intimate, but you’ll dampen your systems with me layin’ on ya?”

“Jazz,” and the way the seeker said his name sent a thrill through his circuits. “My life is already in your hands. There are… recent… memories though I don’t want to share or have accidentally accessed. Odd as it feels, I trust you not to kill me. And even if you did, I bet it’d be a much faster, less painful death than I’d get otherwise.”

Jazz shifted to the side and lay propped on an elbow, gazing down at Sunstorm. “Go for it. I’ve only used it ta get things over with faster. Never bothered applyin’ it for _more_ fun.”

A smirk appeared on the seeker’s face. “You’ll never want to spark without cycling first ever again,” Sunstorm promised, optics dimming before closing. The already quiet whirr of his internal systems became almost impossible to hear. A klik passed. Then another and the soft sound geared up again.

Golden optics opened to stare into the spy’s. Jazz leaned forward and licked along one of the tear tracks on Sunstorm’s cheek. Beneath his hand, the Autobot felt a gentle shiver. “Worked huh?” he breathed against the other mech’s audial and a soft sigh sent warmed air drifting over the spy’s cheek.

“Always works,” Sunstorm whispered, his own hands coming up and pulling Jazz’s mouth into a gentle kiss.

There was skill there in the soft press and glide of lips that the spy hadn’t fully expected. Jazz leaned closer, letting his hand trace armor seams and ghost over exposed cables and lines. Sunstorm’s hands wandered along his back and sides, touch light and unhurried.

The seeker turned his face away, mouth running a line of kisses to the underside of Jazz’s chin. The yellow mech’s hand pushed lightly at the spy’s shoulders. “Let me up,” he whispered.

Jazz backed away little by little, not wanting to break all contact. This was likely to be the last chance either of them had for this type of respite for a while and he didn’t want to waste a second of it on _not_ touching. Sunstorm seemed of the same mind as he slowly sat, then shifted to his knees, pulling the Autobot back in by wrapping his arms around Jazz’s shoulders.

“Flat on my back is not my favored position,” he murmured into the spy’s audial.

“Mmm,” Jazz sighed as his neck cables were slowly licked and nibbled. He slid his hands around the slim waist. “Wings, right?” he whispered, left hand holding Sunstorm against him at the small of his back, right hand pulling out along the lower edge of a wing, all the way to the tip. A shuddering breath came from the seeker and Jazz’s mouth was captured in another kiss. This one deep and passionate. The Autobot rubbed the slightly rounded wingtip and smirked a little with the rolling purr from Sunstorm.

The Decepticon tipped his head back, hands searching and fingers sliding into transformation seams and armor gaps to brush delicious, light caresses over Jazz’s wiring and circuits. The spy took the opportunity to lick and suck at the smooth strong cables of Sunstorm’s throat.

“You’ll have to guide me, I’m afraid. I’ve never been with a ground pou… groundling. I don’t know all the sensitive places.”

Jazz chuckled, letting the deeper tone vibrate over the other’s sensitive lines. “Be more fun though if ya just touch me everywhere an’ figure it out for yourself.”

Sunstorm’s lips found the spy’s again and Jazz could feel the smile. Another low purr sounded in the dark. “I rather like the way you think, Autobot.” Lithe hands crept into wheel wells and pinched gently at the deep wires buried within as their mouths locked together again.

Jazz shivered and tried to maintain his focus. Sunstorm had a touch the spy never would have credited to a Decepticon. He was slow and methodical in his explorations, easily adjusting his touch to the extra sensitivity so the Autobot’s arousal built slowly, a steady heat and pressure building in his body and spark. Jazz mimicked the light easy caresses, and let his touch wander everywhere.

True to his words, Sunstorm was as quiet as Jazz, soft sighs, the occasional sharp gasp, and low purrs were the only sounds to break the monotonous drone of the rain pounding down. Until the Decepticon got his mouth on one of the spy’s short cranial horns. Jazz moaned and felt the other’s dark lips curve in a smile.

“Playin’ dirty, Stormy,” he gasped and wriggled his fingers into the wires just below the seeker’s wing hinges.

Sunstorm stiffened in Jazz’s arms and gave a strangled whimper as he tried to bite back a cry of intense pleasure. Gasping and nip-licking a path down to the spy’s shoulder, the seeker whispered. “Evil Decepticon, ‘member?” The jet’s hand moved up, and stroked the other horn in time with his lips trailing back up to the opposite audial. “Jazz,” he breathed and the spy trembled. “Give me your spark, Jazz.”

They both jerked as the Autobot obeyed the whispered demand, respirations stopped in their efforts to remain quiet. Jazz squeezed his optics shut and pressed hard against the Decepticon, his arms banding tightly around the seeker’s waist. Sunstorm purred and returned the pulse with a deliberate roll of the energies, his own arms clinging to the spy’s shoulders and face buried against hot neck cables.

The exchange solidified and their sparks took over with Jazz’s next throb of energy. He wanted to stay in control but couldn’t and power flashed hard and fast between them. The spy gave up all pretense of finesse and sank into the sensations as his body shook. Sunstorm was practically draped into the Autobot’s arms as he trembled and gasped in time to the merged volley of their sparks.

Jazz moaned as heat washed through his body, cables tightening and circuits beginning to burn as he was driven up the final crest towards overload. His spark throbbed and felt banded in glorious pressure.

“Jazz,” Sunstorm whimpered against the spy’s audial and Jazz was flung free into release. The seeker went rigid in his arms and his head arched back. In the dim blue glow of his optics and through the haze of bliss, he watched Sunstorm’s silent scream of ecstasy until pleasure forced his optics closed and he shuddered in completion.

They clung to each other for countless moments, sagging in exhaustion.

When he thought he could speak without slurring too bad, Jazz grazed a gentle kiss over the seeker’s cheek. “Ya’re beautiful in overload.”

“May we survive this to enjoy many, many more with many beautiful lovers,” Sunstorm whispered back.

And just like that the afterglow faded.

Jazz cursed himself internally for forgetting the situation, even though that had been the whole idea. Outside the rain still pounded down and he wasn’t sure how much longer it would last. “Here,” he whispered and drew back a bit. Reaching into his subspace he pulled out two of the tiny cubes. “It’s strong. Ya’ll buzz for a klik or so once it hits ya, but best we be awake an’ ready when the rain lets up, than snoozin’ an’ miss our chance ta run.”

Sunstorm’s optics went wide and he looked between the energon and Jazz’s face a few times before flinging his arms around the spy’s shoulders again in a hard embrace. “Primus bless you, I promise I’ll miss every shot I’m ordered to fire against an Autobot for the next ten decacycles!”

The Autobot chuckled softly and cuddled the seeker back. “Ya sure ain’t the usual ‘Con. But ya’re welcome, Stormy.”

The Decepticon pulled back and gave a small smile. “I didn’t bring much and all the running and not trusting that thing to come up on me during recharge, I’ve burned through all the energon I had grabbed before leaving.” Sunstorm watched as Jazz popped the little cube into his mouth and then followed the example, sucking a little before his optics went wide again in surprise. “Primus below us!” he exclaimed, optics now shuttering and an expression of pleasure almost as intense as his overload taking over his features.

“Good stuff, huh?” Jazz said around his cube. “Took Jack a few messy tries, but he managed ta refine our energon purification process ta this point.” He bit down on the cube, disrupting the field and swallowing the last few drops. “Takes a lot o’ time though an’ its always nice ta sit around an’ drink a cube with friends, so these’re mostly emergency an’ travel rations.”

Sunstorm savored his energon to the last drop before copying the spy and breaking the cube’s field. “I don’t think I’ve ever tasted energon so sweet. It must be like what the wealthy enjoyed during the Golden Age in their high Towers.”

Jazz shrugged. “’Accordin’ ta Raj, it’s better an’ ta get him ta admit ta somethin’ like that is pretty impressive.” He sighed and took up his former place against the column as the energon hit his systems and the room did a slow tilt and wind.

“Oh!” Sunstorm gasped, arms flying out and fingers splayed. “Is this… Is this drunk?” he asked incredulously.

“Nah. Well, sorta but it only lasts about a klik or so. Well…” The spy snickered. “Lasted half a breem on little Bee. But no hangover, no processor pain or rollin’ tanks once the little rush is over. It’s also perfectly safe. So long as ya don’t go an’ gorge yourself on ‘em, ya won’t get a true overcharge.”

Sunstorm crawled carefully over to the Autobot and curled against his side, head resting on Jazz’s shoulder. He was quiet for almost an entire breem. Then in barely a whisper, “You could win the war with those. If the neutrals and even a good number of Decepticons knew you had such a good supply of energon, and you were willing to share… The Autobots could win the war. It’d be over and we could just rebuild our world instead of destroy ourselves.”

Jazz stared down in astonishment at the top of the seeker’s helm. In truth the Autobots on Earth were doing ok. They were allotted enough energon that starvation wasn’t an issue, even rationing wasn’t strictly enforced. But there wasn’t even enough excess to give more than a token amount very occasionally to Ultra Magnus for distribution here on Cybertron. But he couldn’t very well tell the Decepticon _that_. Nor would lying be a good idea as that could increase Decepticon attacks on the Autobot enclaves still operating here on the home world.

He chose instead to agree with the larger notion that seemed to be in the spark of everyone regardless of faction. “I’d love ta see Cybertron rebuilt.”

Another three cycles passed. They would occasionally whisper comments to each other. Melancholy seemed to take hold over the seeker again and when the rains finally stopped he did no more than nod when Jazz commented on it.

He waited another quarter cycle and nudged Sunstorm. “How’re ya’re levels?”

“You would give me more?”

“We got more than twenty megamiles ta walk. And who knows how many stops we’re gonna hafta make along the road.” Jazz pulled another cube from his subspace and held it out to the Decepticon. “I’m good, but if ya’re a bit low, better to eat now, sit tight here until after the system buzz clears and then we’ll go. We may end up havin’ ta run or fight an’ I don’t wanna hafta worry aboutcha droppin’ on me in the middle of a battle.” The spy looked at Sunstorm. “Ya got weapons?”

“One blaster in my subspace.” The seeker pulled it out and Jazz turned on his headlights, angling his body to shine them on the weapon. “Only a half charge though.”

“Well eat that cube an’ charge it up.”

Sunstorm stared at the spy in confusion. “What?”

Jazz frowned. Slag. He would be teaching an enemy a trick, even if he did it for him. “Nevermind, sometimes I forget not everyone has my… customizations.” He smirked and took the blaster pistol from Sunstorm, motioning the other to eat. “Com’on. Charge yourself up. I’ll see what I can do with this. ‘Con tech and ‘Bot tech may or may not mesh.” Though the two of them had meshed pretty well, Jazz thought with a grin. The kid had handed over his sole weapon without blinking and popped the energon into his mouth in complete trust.

The spy bit back a sigh as his own mind ran through all the ways he could destroy this Decepticon. Shoot him with his own weapon. Sabotage the weapon. Poison the kid with a tainted energon cube… But then, the yellow mech hadn’t done a single thing to earn his deactivation from Jazz and Jazz had been sent on something of a search and rescue, try to recruit mission. Not a seek and destroy. And he didn't _want_ to hurt Sunstorm.

He smirked, imagining the seeker’s expression when he saw what Jazz was going to attempt. The spy kept his visored gaze on Sunstorm and opened his interface panel, pulling the connector cord out and plugging into the charging jack on the blaster.

Sunstorm’s optics went comically wide and he sputtered. “What…?!”

“Customizations,” Jazz snickered.

“But… but…”

The Autobot laughed quietly. “It don’t feel good, not like interfacin’ at all, but I did some creative rewiring once.” And that was sort of true, he’d really only made something already possible a little more effective. “Let’s me charge weapons on the fly when I gotta.”

“Primus! Jazz, what the slag _are_ you?”

Jazz stared at the seeker in shock. “Wow… my rep doesn’t reach as far as it used ta.” Sunstorm only looked at him quizzically when the spy said nothing further.

He turned his attention to the blaster and felt the gun begin to take the charge he was feeding down the connection cable. Reaching into his subspace Jazz counted by touch how many cubes he had left and ran a few quick calculations as he pushed one more into his mouth to replace the energy the weapon was taking.

Another breem saw both mechs standing by the door. Audials dialed up to maximum, they listened to the world beyond the barrier. Nothing but the occasional drip and plop of the acid sounded. Jazz reset his audials and nodded to Sunstorm. The seeker stood right up against the spy, already trembling, but gave a short nod back.

Jazz dug his fingers into the edge of the door and pulled, wincing at the grinding squeal. The seeker whimpered and gripped tight to the Autobot’s upper arm. The spy stopped when the gap was just wide enough for them to squeeze through. He listened again, knowing that in the silence of the surrounding forest, that squeal would have carried a fair distance, echoing around and bouncing off the crystals.

That was as good as it was bad. If that thing was out there, and not all that smart, it’d have a tough time deciding where the sound had come from. If it was smart, they needed to haul aft.

The Autobot peeked out, removing his own gun from subspace, holding it low and ready, and took a good long look at their environment. Puddles of bright yellow-green acid fizzled and bubbled here and there, corroding the metal ground at the bases of a nearby crystal clusters and dripping off the corners of their shelter.

Jazz slipped out, careful of where he put his feet. Sunstorm’s hands fell away, only the pale golden glow of his narrowed optics shining from within the blackness of the interior. The spy stepped away, listening hard and searching the shadows created by Cybertron’s never ending night and the low phosphorescence of the crystals. He motioned to Sunstorm to come out and let his optics scan left to right and back.

Without words he led them to the main pathway, choosing the center and exposure over the sides and the possibility of ambush. Sunstorm hovered close, his steps light and almost as silent as Jazz’s and the spy felt a moment’s gratitude for the grace all seekers just seemed to have.

Cycles passed as they walked slowly along the paths and ancient roads now overgrown with the crystals. Jazz would have liked to move faster. The last building until the edge of the forest had been passed two breems ago and the crystals crowded in on them, narrowing their path and leaving them more and more at risk of a sudden attack doing severe damage before they could retaliate.

Sunstorm hadn’t uttered a single sound, he stayed close behind Jazz, weapon held low but locked and loaded. A glitchmouse would likely be vaporized if it dared wiggle its nose in the seeker’s direction. The spy was likewise as tense and ready. He ran a systems check, well aware how such high alert could drain resources. He was still operating on plenty of energy, calculations predicted they’d be able to make it to the border easily on what they had. Even a hotter burning seeker should be fine. And they could always stop at that outpost-like building to refuel if Sunstorm needed it.

In fact if it was at all needed they should stop. It would be dangerous to assume this thing would give up stalking them at the border. It might… yet it might not and they would be better off playing paranoid all the way back to a secure base than taking their safety for granted.

Jazz led them to the right branch of a triple pronged fork in the path. This was the last road, the one that would lead them out. He came to a halt just a few paces onto the new path as they always did at an intersection and listened carefully. The spy felt Sunstorm’s hand find its way to his upper arm again.

He was focused forward intently, wanting to be absolutely certain they weren’t walking into a trap. But as always Jazz couldn’t hear anything and knew if the thing was lying in wait for them, they’d just have to fight their way clear. Sunstorm’s grip suddenly tightened to painful and the seeker pressed against his back.

Then Jazz heard it. The scrape-slither sound the thing made as it moved. He’d been expecting the rumbling boom to precede the softer noises and cursed mentally. But why was Sunstorm frozen instead of shooting?

The Autobot slowly turned his head and only ages of intensive training kept him from crying out in horror and shock.

It _was_ a monster!

Huge and long tentacles reached and dragged a gigantic cylindrical body forward, meter by meter.

Jazz stopped his respiration cycles, dimmed his optics as much as he dared, and stood absolutely still. The Decepticon at his back must have done the same, because even with audials on full, he could hear nothing but that rhythmic hiss.

It moved past them little by little and the spy stared at those powerful tentacles until they had moved out of sight down the left fork. It continued on, never showing the least sign it had noticed them.

The two remained rooted to the spot long after the last sounds faded beyond the Autobot’s sensitive hearing.

“We know where it is now,” Sunstorm breathed into Jazz’s audial. “ _Please_ tell me we’re close?”

The spy nodded and began walking, moving faster than before but still trying to be as silent as possible. Sunstorm followed, a whisper of sound in Jazz’s wake. He pushed a little faster, not wanting to take the time to explain the danger they were in.

Ahead, about half a breem at their current pace, was an intersection that crossed the road from left to right. Jazz knew it was the left fork looping back and crossing the middle and right fork roads. If that… monster continued at its pace, they’d make it and maybe it would just cross the trail and not even find them. If it was a ploy though and it could somehow move all that ponderous bulk faster…

Jazz slowed their pace and motioned the seeker to stay back while he crept up to the intersection. He hunched low and peeked around the corner of a crystal cluster twice Optimus Prime’s height. Without looking the Autobot waved Sunstorm forward and waited until he felt the seeker’s head next to his own.

“We gotta run for it,” Jazz whispered.

Sunstorm’s weight pressed against him more and the Decepticon looked around the corner as well. Jazz knew the instant the yellow mech caught sight of the tentacles rounding the distant bend. The seeker’s hands clenched and his breathing stopped a moment. “We wait for it to pass.”

“Too risky. This is the way out ‘less we go back the other way. Can’t risk it cuttin’ us off. We make a break for it. Cross an’ go. We’ll move slow, maybe it won’t notice us but we gotta go now.”

The Decepticon nodded hesitantly and they stood slowly, inching out into the intersection, optics glued to the distant enemy. Jazz held himself ready to break and run at the first sign the thing had spotted them.

The rumbling boom from behind their backs caused both mechs to jump and whirl around.

There were two!

And the second one was moving fast, tentacles reach-dragging, bulky body crashing to the ground with every pull and sending that reverberating thunder racing ahead of it.

Sunstorm snatched Jazz’s hand and ran. “How far?! Jazz! How far?!”

_Far enough!_ the spy thought and focused on moving his legs as fast as he could.

Both the things were now behind them and gaining and Jazz knew there was nowhere to hide. They’d need to break into the open and keep going.

“We break clear,” Jazz shouted, “you try flyin’. Soon as ya can, ya take off.”

Sunstorm’s head shook in a fast denial. “Won’t leave you to fight _those_ alone!”

Jazz managed a short laugh. “I ain’t hangin’ ‘round ta fight. Gonna transform and high tail it outta here.”

They burst into the open and Jazz began trying his communications while taking the chance to glance back and see how close the monsters were.

He crashed into Sunstorm and they went down in a tangle of limbs. The Autobot was just about to snap at the other mech for stopping when shouts and the sounds of laser fire cut the air. The seeker scrambled out from under Jazz as the spy crouched and stared in disbelief at the combined forces of Autobot, Decepticon and Shockwave’s battle drones. Another quick look behind them showed the monsters still moving forward.

“Hurry!” Sunstorm yelled and pulled at the spy’s arm until he moved. They crawled below the laser bolts to the small gap of space between both armies and hunched together. Once they were clear heavier artillery was launched, the explosions making the ground tremble and Jazz’s audials ache at the volume.

“Lieutenant!” Hotrod shouted and crouched by Jazz. “You ok, Jazz?” The spy gave the young warrior a thumbs up and smirked at Sunstorm’s gape-mouthed expression. “So which of you is the other’s prisoner?” the red and orange mech laughed.

“Lieutenant?” Sunstorm asked, shocked disbelief taking over his face. “Now I know why I recognized your designation.” The yellow seeker moaned and dropped to his aft, covering his face. “You aren’t just some random Autobot I’ve heard about in passing. You’re the third in command under Prime. You’re the chief saboteur and spy for the Autobot army.”

“Don’t forget Commander of Special Operations. You didn’t know who Jazz was?” Hotrod laughed as all the Decepticon did was shake his head miserably.

Jazz reached out and patted the other mech’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Bet ya’re really glad we didn’t hardline now, huh?” Sunstorm only moaned, lost in his embarrassment.

“Hardline?” Hotrod and a newly arrived seeker gasped at the same time.

Jazz just shrugged and moved away from the yellow mech a little as his brother knelt next to him. The shelling stopped and the sudden silence rang. The monsters were dead and the crystals were reduced to powder in the surrounding area.

“Storm?” the new seeker called quietly. “Did…? Where…?”

“They’re all dead!” Sunstorm snapped. He was on his feet in the next instant and held the fully charged blaster at pointblank range to Shockwave’s single optic. “They’re all dead and it’s _your_ fault!”

“You are distressed and frightened. Brainwashed by that Autobot. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

The seekers, all young and about ten besides Sunstorm were all looking between each other and their brother in confusion. Sunstorm backed up a step, then another. “Brainwashed my aft. That Autobot saved my life, refused to leave me when he could have easily and you wasted seventeen of my brothers’ lives. You just kept sending them down here. You _knew_!”

Shockwave tipped his featureless head to the side slightly and looked at Ultra Magnus. “Given the events and orders of my lord, Megatron, I shall allow the Autobots to leave unmolested. Go now.”

Jazz watched Sunstorm stiffen as he was so lightly dismissed and shared a quick glance with Ultra Magnus. “Had my own orders b’fore I left Earth,” the spy said calmly and stared right at the golden jet. “Was given full authority to offer any third party faction or defectors the complete support of the Autobot army if they wanted it.”

Sunstorm didn’t take his optics or gun off of Shockwave, but backed away further. There was a very subtle wing signal, something few others than another flyer would pick up. Jazz saw it, watched as it was repeated by the other ten seekers, one after another. “Our faction has no name as yet to sign a treaty with,” Sunstorm spoke calmly as he reached Jazz’s side.

Shockwave whipped his head back and forth as all the seekers cautiously crossed the gap to stand… very uncomfortably… next to the Autobots.

“No prob, man. I’m sure ya can come up with sumpthin’ by the time the document’s all written up.” Shockwave was sputtering now and Jazz grinned. “Until then, we’ll just call ya Autobot cadets and all leave unmolested.”

“Lord Megatron-“

“Is going to lose this war!” Hotrod shouted. A cheer ran through the Autobots.

Ultra Magnus stepped forward, one hand raising for silence. “The Autobots appreciate your assistance in the retrieval of our men and the destruction of those creatures. We will be in contact shortly regarding whatever information you may have on them so we can be certain there are no more.” Jazz admired the cool sound of threat in the Commander’s voice and smirked.

How they got out of there without Shockwave loosing his temper and starting a battle, the spy wasn’t entirely sure. Of course he still had to sneak back into the Decepticon base and hop the space bridge home, but there was a certain sunny-colored seeker vying for his attention now that his report was up to date, so he would think about that later.

~ | ~

**([Table of Contents](http://ladydragon76.livejournal.com/6214.html) )**


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